There is an ever-present problem with the entangling of garment hangers when they are not in use supporting a garment. This is particularly true when loose hangers are deposited in a bundle or placed in some container. It is typical that in the home a group of hangers are usually stored in the laundry area for use on wash day to put shirts, blouses, slacks, etc. on a hanger after drying so that those garments can be returned to a closet for storage until use. Frequently these loose hangers are placed in some type of container, such as an extra waste basket.
The problem of garment hanger entanglement is even greater in garment manufacturing facilities, department and specialty stores where garments are sold, etc. For these facilities, large numbers of garment hangers are stored in some type of bin and are then withdrawn individually to be put in some form of garment. The entanglement is particularly a problem with wire-type hangers; however, a similar problem is encountered with plastic and wooden hangers.
The entanglement problem of hangers has not really been addressed in the known prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 1,591,087 issued to J. F. Holliday on July 6, 1926, discloses a sales package for garment hangers wherein a plurality of hangers are handled as a unit. It does not provide for a "sorting" of the hangers so as to prevent entanglement of loosely deposited hangers nor does it permit withdrawal of a certain hanger without disturbing the other hangers. U.S. Pat. No. 3,145,835 issued to G. E. Byassee on Aug. 25, 1964, also discloses a box-like receptacle for transport of garment hangers in an untangled manner. This does not, however, provide for rapid deposit of hangers into a container as would be desirable for the above-described uses in the home, department store, etc. The other known art in this general field is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,987,898 issued to W. B. Crane on Oct. 26, 1976. Of the known art, this is the closest art to a device wherein garment hangers can be deposited in an untangled manner and then withdrawn when needed. However, even in this '898 patent, hook portions of adjacent hangers can become entangled and only the top hanger can be withdrawn.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a container that will accept garment hangers for storage in a manner to minimize any entanglement thereof such that an individual hanger can be selected and easily withdrawn when desired.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a container for the storage of garment hangers, the container having a configuration for separating adjacent hangers or groups of hangers as they are deposited therein such that the hangers stored therein are not entangled and such that an individual hanger can be easily withdrawn even when all hangers are not the same size or design.
It is still another object to provide an open-topped container that will receive garment hangers in a vertical orientation, the container having a configuration for aligning the hangers vertically in a non-entangled manner.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide an insert to be used in a conventional open-topped container, such as a generally rectangular waste basket, the insert having a configuration for aligning hangers deposited therein in a vertical orientation in a non-entangled manner.
It is a further object to provide a garment hanger storage unit that can be attached to the wall, utilized on turn tables or carrousels, rolling carts and similar structures as used in warehouses, factories, cleaners, laundries, etc.
These and other objects of the invention will become apparent upon a consideration of the drawings which follow, and the detailed description thereof.